


The Start of Something New

by sunshineflying



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Against their will, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, In which Finn and Rose meddle in Rey's love life, Karaoke, Reluctant Love, Romance, and Phasma and Ben meddle in Hux's, and the two end up experiencing a very High School Musical new year, harmless scheming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:02:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21993397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineflying/pseuds/sunshineflying
Summary: Rey and Hux have meddling friends who "gifted" them a trip to a ski lodge -- where singles from all over the country were gathering for New Years frivolities. Both would rather be anywhere else, but still manage to bond over their shared drink tastes, and their ability to sing a Christmas song after Christmas day at the lodge's New Years karaoke night, against their will.Yes, this is very heavily inspired by the intro to High School Musical. So sue me.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rey
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21
Collections: Reyuxmas 2019





	The Start of Something New

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Mari for being a lovely beta!
> 
> Special thanks to all my Reyux pals in the discord for encouraging me and the other Reyuxmas 2019 participants along on our writing and drawing journeys. It's been a blast!

Rey had known there was a catch when her friends gifted her with a trip to a beautiful ski lodge in the Rockies for Christmas, she just hadn’t known what that catch would be. As it turns out it was a trip for one not for her own personal relaxation, but to the _Hoth New Years Singles Bash_ and she was expected to just be okay with that.

They’d been nagging her for years now, to get back out there and date after some lame guy she’d met in undergrad broke her heart. Rey was a career woman now — an engineer who loved what she did. She was usually too tired to go on dates after work, and was content to just stay at home and relax when she wasn’t doing her job.

But Rose had insisted Rey take this trip, leaving out the whole _singles bash_ detail of the booking, and sent her on her way. 

Now Rey stood in the ski lodge of this very fancy resort, surrounded by other singles, clinging to her glass of neat whiskey as though it were her lifeline. Nothing was mandatory, per se, but the booze was free and Rey liked that. She was well aware that the free booze was just a ploy to lure all the singles out into the social atmosphere the resort was trying to set, but she’d take it. It didn’t mean she had to talk to people.

The first night had been fine; they’d had dinner and played games. Rey did that with all kinds of people. There had been skiing lessons the next day, an activity which she took to with more success than many others around her. That evening there was a formal dinner and dance, at which Rey had made the most minimal appearance ever. She’d worn a pantsuit, which scared away most men, and she got bored about four songs in. After that, Rey retired to her room where she enjoyed some complimentary HBO and room service instead.

After a day of skiing, Rey was now in casual wear and standing around the main area of the lodge, the room gaudily decorated for New Years. 

Rey had groaned before ever even showing up at the event. It was fairly obvious that the point of the singles bash was to help them all find someone with which they could share a midnight kiss to ring in the new year. There were some attractive men, sure, but she wasn’t in the mood for a casual fling. Besides, these people likely came from all over the country. Why would she want to get attached to someone she didn’t live near?

Off in one corner, there was karaoke going on, and there was a couple currently singing a very cheesy rendition of _Don’t Go Breaking My Heart_ ; they were clearly a positive result of whatever this singles bash was trying to achieve. Rey, on the other hand, was not.

She tapped her foot to the infectious beat as she observed the many singles who were actively seeking out a partner. All in various states of inebriation, they provided her with an entertainment she’s sure she wouldn’t find anywhere else. Smirking in amusement, Rey gets lost in her thoughts, so much so that she’s startled when the song ends and whoever is speaking over the crowd suddenly turns a spotlight on her.

Grimacing under the bright light, Rey raises a hand upwards to shield her eyes from the offending rays. “Come on up!”

Having not heard what was going on, Rey goes to the stage as she’s been instructed to do. Only once she’s at the stage does she realize that she didn’t win a prize or anything — she’s just found herself stood behind a microphone, facing a crowd of singles, staring down the fact that they used the spotlights to randomly pair up a man and a woman to sing together.

Rey does not sing karaoke.

Not even with incredibly handsome, tall red-haired men in green cable-knit sweaters. 

He looks even more displeased than Rey, if it’s even possible, and together they shake their heads. Between them, there’s a silent discussion of fleeing and avoiding this embarrassment, or if it’s even possible.

A familiar Christmas melody begins to play, making Rey even grumpier. Christmas has passed, it was time to let Christmas songs die. Faced with no other option but to sing, Rey turns to the red-haired man in hopes that he won’t miss his cue, and that at the very least, she won’t have to do this alone.

Nervously, she begins the song.

_“I really can’t stay…”_

In a suave, soothing tone she hadn’t expected, he comes in right on beat.

_“Baby, it’s cold outside.”_

Though she despises the song for its content and how the man gets the much easier part than the woman, Rey finds herself actually beginning to enjoy what she’s doing. He looks just as unhappy to be there, but when they pull the microphones from their stands and face each other rather than the crowd, it’s easier. 

It feels like no time at all before they’re singing the final line of the song, standing toe to toe, expressions serious and hearts racing.

_“But baby it’s cold… baby, it’s cold outside!”_

The crowd bursts into loud applause as Rey and the mysterious red-haired man finish singing. She smiles at him, unable to help herself. He doesn’t smile back, but the corner of his mouth quirks up and Rey gets the impression that that gesture in itself is a big deal. 

One of the staff takes their microphones from them, and they step off to the side. Rey feels like she’s in a daze as she keeps glancing over at this man. Her brain is telling her to stop, that he swore she wasn’t going to meet someone at this thing and that her friends were wrong. But her heart is telling her that this man is handsome, and she should give it a shot.

“I’m Hux,” he says finally.

“Rey,” she replies.

“It’s nice to meet you.” He raises his glass in a toast.

Whiskey. Neat. A perfect replica of the glass Rey holds in her own hand.

“You as well.” Rey smiles, her eyes sparkling.

Rey raises her glass to meet his and they toast before taking a sip.

Around them, people start to buzz with excitement that they don’t understand at first. But in the distance, Rey spots a television and suddenly understands.

“It’s almost midnight,” she says.

Hux glances over his shoulder to the screen where a countdown informs them that there are less than ten minutes to go before the clock strikes midnight and they ring in the new year.

“I didn’t come here to meet the love of my life or anything,” Hux says, a disclaimer of sorts. “My friends tricked me into it.”

Rey snorts. “So did mine. And ditto.”

“I don’t want to prove them right.”

Rey shakes her head. “Neither do I.”

“Good,” he nods. “Then we’re on the same page.”

“We are.”

They gaze into each other’s eyes for a moment, one of Hux’s eyebrows quirked as Rey tries very hard to fight a smile. 

“What?” he asks.

Rey shrugs. “Just because we don’t want to prove our friends right doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun behind their backs, right?”

In a moment, his smirk matches hers. “Just one night?” he asks.

“Just one night,” she nods in agreement.

She takes a sip of her whiskey and hears people chanting a countdown in the background. Rey gazes up at Hux, deep into his icy blue-green eyes, and smiles. She knows she has a nice smile; she’s not confident about much, but her smile is definitely something she likes about herself. Hux doesn’t tear his gaze away; rather, he rests one hand on her waist and encourages her to step forward. 

Rey follows his lead, and as the clock strikes midnight and the TVs around them show displays of confetti and fireworks, Hux leans forward and Rey stands on her tiptoes. They meet in the middle, lips pressed together, both ignoring the obvious feelings they have for each other. 

Fireworks burst both literally and figuratively around them and they kiss until they can’t breathe anymore. Rey smiles as she leans back, suddenly knowing that this man is different, he’s something else.

She knows nothing about him, and he knows nothing about her, but they still retreat upstairs together, hand in hand, ready to see where the night and the days ahead take them.

But no matter what happens, they can agree on one thing:

They didn’t meet at the singles retreat, because they _refuse_ to prove their friends right.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Twitter at armitagehoox!


End file.
